When test loading fuselage barrels, there is the requirement for said fuselage barrels to be pressurised. Moreover, there is the further requirement to simulate gravitational force and/or acceleration forces acting on the masses, for example passengers or cargo, located in the fuselage barrel.
An approach known to the applicant for test loading, therefore, provides that a fuselage barrel is configured with radial recesses, through which hydraulic cylinders are passed which, on the one hand, act on a frame arranged outside the fuselage barrel and, on the other hand, on the cargo deck and/or passenger deck of the fuselage barrel.
With this approach which is known to the applicant, it has proved disadvantageous that the recesses initially have to be provided in the fuselage barrel, which is associated with a considerable cost. Moreover, it has also proved to be disadvantageous that the hydraulic cylinders and/or the piston rods thereof have to be sealed relative to the fuselage skin by means of sealing collars, in order to prevent pressure escaping from the fuselage barrel. This is also associated with a considerable cost.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to avoid the disclosed drawbacks above.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1.
Accordingly, a device is provided for test loading a fuselage barrel, in particular in the aviation and aerospace industry. Said device comprises a first and a second pressure bulkhead for sealing the fuselage barrel at the end faces thereof in a pressure-tight manner. The device further comprises a support device which may be coupled to the first pressure bulkhead, on the one hand, and to the second pressure bulkhead, on the other hand, extending through the fuselage barrel. Moreover, the device comprises a loading device which may be coupled to the support device, on the one hand, and to a portion of the fuselage barrel, on the other hand, for introducing loads into the fuselage barrel.
The idea underlying the present invention is that the means required for simulating the loads which result from the masses arranged in the fuselage barrel and act on the fuselage barrel, are arranged inside and not outside the fuselage barrel, as in the approach known to the applicant. Thus the requirement of providing the radial recesses in the fuselage skin, as disclosed above, is also dispensed with. Moreover, the requirement of sealing the hydraulic cylinders relative to the fuselage skin, which is costly, is also dispensed with. Thus, by means of the device according to the invention, the desired test loading of the fuselage barrel costs considerably less.
Advantageous embodiments and improvements of the invention are set forth in the sub-claims.
According to a preferred development of the device according to the invention, the support device may be coupled by means of a fixed bearing to the first pressure bulkhead and by means of a loose bearing to the second pressure bulkhead. Thus a distortion between the support device and the fuselage barrel is avoided, i.e. the fuselage barrel may freely deform, for example in bending tests, without bending moments in the region of the coupling points between the support device and the pressure bulkhead being introduced therein. Thus the forces which act in reality may be easily adjusted.
According to a further preferred development of the device according to the invention, the support device comprises a first beam, a second beam and struts coupling said beams. In particular, the first beam, second beam and the struts form a framework. Such a structure provides the support device with the desired rigidity, in spite of the comparatively large distance between the first and second pressure bulkhead.
According to a further preferred development of the device according to the invention, the loading device comprises at least one adjusting member for acting on the first or second beam and a deck of the fuselage barrel.
According to a further preferred development of the device according to the invention, the loading device comprises at least one adjusting member for acting on the first beam and a lower deck of the fuselage barrel and at least one adjusting member for acting on the second beam and the upper deck, the first beam being able to be coupled to the pressure bulkheads. Thus the first beam may be configured to extend relatively precisely along the centre line (longitudinal direction) of the fuselage barrel. Thus the length of the adjusting members, in particular of a piston of a hydraulic cylinder, may be kept relatively small. The adjusting members are preferably configured as hydraulic cylinders.
Preferably, a third beam is a component of the framework, which extends laterally offset to the second beam and is also coupled to the first beam by means of struts. The at least one adjusting member may therefore be arranged such that it is fastened to the first adjusting member and passes through the second and third adjusting member in order to be coupled to one of the decks, in particular the lower deck.
According to a further preferred development of the device according to the invention, the loading device comprises at least one load distribution means which connects the at least one adjusting member to the upper or lower deck, the load distribution means comprising a ramified structure. The term “ramified structure” means that a first component comprises the entire force flux and a plurality of second components are coupled to said component, which respectively comprise a fraction of the force flux, and preferably said second components are respectively coupled to third components, which in turn comprise a fraction of the force flux in the respective second component. The first, the second and preferably third components are thus respectively configured to be adapted to the force flux which flows therein, with regard to their stability. Thus the load distribution means may be produced relatively easily and advantageously.
According to a further preferred development of the device according to the invention, a retaining device is provided which keeps the pressure bulkheads movable relative to one another. Thus the actual conditions to which a fuselage barrel is subjected may be easily adjusted.
According to a further preferred development of the device according to the invention, the retaining device comprises a frame in which one of the pressure bulkheads is fixedly clamped and at least one adjusting means which is coupled to the frame and the other respective pressure bulkhead. As a result of the adjusting means, the loads which occur, for example in the flight phase, may be easily introduced into the fuselage barrel.
In the figures, like reference numerals denote like or functionally equivalent components, unless stated otherwise.